Alan Hiley’s recent recollections about his 1950s childhood growing up in the Stockbrook Street area of Derby prompted some happy memories for one of our website readers.

Going by the website name Markin5, the reader commented: “What lovely reminders of the 1950s and 60s. “[Shopkeeper] Billy Andrews was a lovely man. His favourite saying was ‘thank you very much’, and I remember him squashing ants which were crawling along his counter when I went to get Dad a bottle of nut brown ale on a Sunday.

“Hopkinson’s Post Office, or Hoppos and we called it, had big square tins of biscuits, with glass lids, which you bought by weight. They were on the left-hand side as you walked in, next to the counter. At the end of the counter was the brass metal mesh Post Office section.

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“On the ceiling, if you looked up, were numerous fly papers covered in dead flies and, on a small counter to the side, was a bacon slicer with a piece of bacon waiting to be sliced.

“It would not be unusual to see ‘Hoppo’ swat a fly on the bacon with a large, flat-bladed knife and then scrape it off before continuing to slice the bacon for a customer. And there was always a cat curled up near the biscuits. Environmental health would have had a field day then.

“At the corner of Farm Street and Woods Lane, where the Co-op butchers was located, was a warm wall. It was dark brown and we used to warm our hands on it on the way to school. It was where a fire was inside the Co-op office on the corner.”